Not Just A Kid
by M. Mint
Summary: After Captain Marvel was forced to reveal his secret identity as ten-year-old boy Billy Batson to the members of the Justice League, he is frustrated to find that they start treating him like a stranger, and, even worse, like a child. It's up to Black Canary, the team mom, to figure things out and bring Billy and the League back together. One-Shot.


**Not that anyone really cares, but woot woot, first FanFic y'all. So exciting. I'm just brimming with joy. Clearly.**

 **A story in which Billy Batson is a fluffy child, and Dinah is a mom. Of course, that's how they always are.**

 **I have thought about everything that goes into this story very hard, so if you think you know better than I how things work in this universe, feel free to tell me.**

 **-M. Mint**

* * *

The sirens throughout the Watchtower blared loudly, fading in and out of Captain Marvel's ears as he flew down the hallways. One second they would be in a crescendo towards the loudness of an air horn, and then they would sound more like a far-off car alarm. A door slammed from one of the rooms he had just passed, and out of it ran Black Canary, who somehow was able to keep up with the Speed of Mercury.

She even managed to catch her breath enough to turn to him and speak as casually as if they were on some walk in the park.

"It's a Code Blue."

Code Blue…that meant… _aliens?_ No, that was Code Green. Red was all-hands-on-deck end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it business, Yellow was natural disaster and crisis aversion, Black was infiltration of the Watchtower. Blue…gosh, what _was_ blue?

Evidently, Canary was able to pick up on his forgetfulness. "Supervillains. Working together."

Captain Marvel pumped a fist with an "Aww, sweet!" but recognizing his mistake, quickly changed it to a "…I mean…that's…exciting. You know. In a bad way. Super bad. Yep." He threw open the double doors before him.

He and Canary made it to the debriefing just in time. Most of the League was already present, including their newest members (how was he supposed to keep a straight face whenever he was even in the same _room_ as Plastic Man?), and only Green Arrow and Hawk Man had yet to show up before they could get started.

The last members surrounded Batman and Superman, who had blown up several screens with live footage of the current crisis, neither looking too pleased, Superman in the justice-serving way and Batman in the more this-sucks kind of way.

"Everybody here?" Batman waited a fraction of a second, as if someone in that second was going to tell him anything otherwise. "Good. No time for formalities, but welcome to all the newest members of the League." He hardly nodded in their direction. Captain Marvel was always shocked that Batman managed to get away with being so cold.

"The breakout from Belle Reve hasn't caused any major trouble since its occurrence two weeks ago. But that's changed. Remember the Injustice League?" Again, another question that he followed up with his own answers. "Yep, they're at it again." A video was playing of a news report on a couple black splotches in the sky with the caption 'More Martians Arriving?'.

"Three separate unmanned aircraft are triangulating the Hall of Justice at an unusually high altitude. I tracked their control signal to where we last fought the Injustice League alongside the Team in Louisiana. Smart, hiding where we've already looked for them." Captain Marvel could have sworn that Batman had smirked, but the gesture was so faint that it could have been (and it was more likely to have been) just an involuntary twitch of the face. "But there seem to be only three villains controlling the ships. We already know that Joker is still locked up in Arkham, and Count Vertigo has been mostly off the radar, which leaves the other five member the ones responsible. I suggest a four-man squad to go fight the two villains in the Louisiana Bayou and two Leaguers per airship. We're not taking any chances."

Dude, this was sick! Airship battle? Captain Marvel was _so_ there! He hadn't done something like this in so long, probably since the time he had spent with the teenage Justice League. They always seemed to be doing something fun. With the League, it was always award ceremonies and alien negotiations, but the Team was like the special-ops team who did undercover missions like breaking into prisons and fighting magicians.

After Batman finished, Superman took over. "We're sending the Flash, Dr. Fate, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow to take down the three villains. Batman, Martian Manhunter, Hawk Woman, Green Lantern, Icon, and I will take the airships. The rest of you will stay on standby here until further notice."

This didn't make sense. It was a mission for _flying people_. At _high altitude._ "Why aren't I on one of the aerial teams?" Captain Marvel immediately blurted out. The rest of the League turned to face him, clearly not expecting this outburst. "You know I'm only second to Superman in aerial combat."

"We carefully picked these teams, Captain Marvel," Batman stated bluntly, probably narrowing his eyes under his cowl. Captain Marvel could tell he was tense. In fact, everyone in the room seemed slightly, well, guarded. Great. Just great. He knew what this was all about, all right. And it frustrated him as all get out.

"One of the members of the Injustice League is Black Adam, who is literally my mortal enemy. _I_ could have been chosen instead of you. I mean, you can't even fly."

The Flash let out a low whistle. Green Arrow raised an eyebrow.

"Billy, it's not just about who can fly and who can't," Canary said, placing a hand on his shoulder as if to comfort him. That was what ticked him off the most. Why had she suddenly become so motherly towards him?

"Oh yeah, it's about the fact that I'm a ten-year-old, and so now, none of you can trust me." He glared at the Leaguers, who seemed so distant all of a sudden. "Is that it?"

No one said anything at all. Martian Manhunter raised a hand and opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but then put it down. Their eyes were cold, confused, fearful, and altogether very uninviting. He felt like he was surrounded by strangers.

Letting out a sigh, he lowered his shoulders, which he hadn't realized were tensed up, and turned around. "Whatever. I know when I'm not welcome."

He zeta-tubed off the Watchtower before anyone had the chance to stop him. He was pretty sure they wouldn't, anyways.

* * *

Black Canary immediately spun around to face the rest of the Leaguers, tossing her hair behind her shoulders. "Seriously, guys?"

Arrow looked taken aback. "What?"

She crossed her arms, bringing her shoulders back as if she was ready to lecture them. And lecture them she did. "You guys were just staring him down like he's some sort of criminal! Honestly, I thought we were all friends here, or something sappy like that." She was met with blank stares.

"Yeah," Flash started, biting his lip, "but…"

"But _what,_ Barry?"

"But…I mean…I dunno. It's just…well…"

"Spit it out," she ordered.

"He's _ten!_ " Flash finally burst out, throwing his hands out in front of him. "It's like I'm talking to Wally, but even younger!"

"We voted on keeping him as a member, Barry."

"I know, I know, and I'm fine with that. He's a great Leaguer, and he's super good at what he does, but it's just…I can't think of him the same way!"

"I would concur with that," the Martian added, "but it is different for me." Canary sighed. Obviously, this was going to be one of those 'on my planet' talks. "On my planet, age is very important in how we Martians relate to one another, especially concerning the respecting of one's seniors. The passing of wisdom and the calling of titles, for example."

"Well, I seem to recall that he possesses the 'Wisdom of Solomon'," Icon argued. "You know, whatever that means."

"This is ridiculous," Batman butted in, typing something into the computer as if he hadn't even been listening to anything that was going on around him. "We have an assignment. Code Blue, remember?"

"And we all know how incredibly important that is," Canary snapped, more than a little bit one edge. "So, by all means, go get 'em. I'm off to keep this team from falling apart."

* * *

The level was going perfectly. The odds were definitely in his favor. Cheeky Chaser was doing just fine—until he ran into a Gargo, which immediately drained him of all his lives. Again.

"Come on, Batson, seriously?" Billy sighed, averting his gaze from the 'GAME OVER' message flashing in front of him. For probably the fourth time, Billy had lost this level. But, to be fair, his head wasn't really in the game. He lay on his bed in his t-shirt and jeans with a bag of chips on the floor next to him, playing Cheeky Chaser. So, naturally, he was in a terrible mood.

He had never felt more frustrated and alone in his life.

He _knew_ that Batman trusted him. He really did. Batman had been the one Leaguer who knew that he was just a kid, but he had still let him be a part of the team. Not only that, but he had given Captain Marvel a bunch of really important missions. He _knew_ that there were other reasons why he hadn't been assigned to this one.

But the way everybody had been treating him! Giving him weird looks when he entered the room, talking to him like they had just met him or something, it was like he was hanging out with a completely different group of people. Man, he just wished he could be on the Team—kids who were closer to his age. But, at the same time, it was nice being with the Justice League, working with all the big kids. Well, it _had been_ nice being with the Justice League.

A knock came from his door, more as a formality, seeing as none of the handles had any locks. The door creaked open (the hinges badly needed oiling), and in poked a round face with grey hairs sticking out in different directions.

"Billy?" his uncle said softly, his voice a little nasally and worn. Billy loved it. "There's someone here that wants to see you."

Billy restarted the level again, even with the knowledge that he would probably fail it, again. He tried to act aloof, like a teenager or something. "If he says his name is Bruce Wayne, tell him I'm not here. If it's Miss Harding from school, tell her I'm not here. And tell her that Joey started it."

Dudley sighed, shaking his head. "She said her name was Dinah Lance. Know her from work or something?"

"Nope," he immediately replied, his fingers tensing on the gaming system.

Dudley sighed again. Billy knew he was giving him a hard time and immediately regretted his whole teenager act. He turned off his game, tossing it on the ground, and sat up to face him.

"Oh, Uncle Dudley, it's Black Canary, _please_ don't let her in," he pleaded, leaning forward. Darn it, why did Dudley have to give him that look? But he closed the door anyways, leaving Billy alone once again.

He almost relaxed before the door opened again and the blonde Dinah peeked into the room. The moment the two made eye contact, Billy let out a loud groan and fell back onto his covers, rolling over so that his face was in the pillows.

* * *

"Gah!" he screamed into the pillow, grabbing both sides with his hands and pulling it more into his face. "I hate you, Uncle Dudley!"

Dinah stepped into the room, her heels silent on the carpet and mess of clothes on the floor. "Well, this sure is homey," she remarked, removing a heap of clothes from his desk's chair and sitting down. That was an overstatement, though the state of the room was unsurprising given both the boy's age and the general lack of upkeep around the apartment. Clothes littered the ground, and it had probably been a while since they had been cleaned. Various snack food bags littered the ground, most still containing some food in them. The blankets of the bed were all untucked and clumped at one end of the mattress. The best kept parts of the room were actually the walls where there had been hung several sports posters, all pristine and neatly placed around the room. He also had a coat rack that was unused except for his backpack.

She glanced at the desk beside her, which was covered with newspapers. Many were Sport's sections with player stats and pictures, but there was an almost equal amount of articles about the Justice League or the Team.

Seeing all this, she smiled. He had so much character that she had yet to discover.

"Go away," Billy said into his pillow, kicking his legs into the air.

"You…have a lot of football posters," she started, glancing at a few of them. "Who's the one in the red and gold jersey?" she asked, focusing on the one directly over his bed.

"That's J.C. Quaye," he immediately responded, though with his face still in his pillow. "He's a wide receiver for Cassidy."

"Is that a high school around here?"

"Yeah. I _really_ want to go there."

"Do you play football?"

At once she knew she had hit a sore spot. Billy pulled his face out of his pillow, but he rolled onto his side so that his back was to her. "Well, kind of. I mean, we don't have a team at CHES, but I still like to play."

He was obviously leaving out several things in saying this. Dinah could only assume that he had tried out for some football team or another, but he hadn't made the cut.

"What else do you like to do?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I like baseball. Video games. And, like, reading. My teacher gave me this book about the Mongols, and it's really cool. It has a lot of really cool pictures." He sat up on his bed all of a sudden, his eyes lighting up. "Like, there's this one page where it has this picture of the bows that they used—like, they were super strong, but they didn't have very strong legs because they only rode horses."

"Do you like history?"

Billy jerked his head to face her, his face practically glowing with the excitement. "Yeah, I love history books, they're all _super_ cool! Like, like, I have this one that Uncle Dudley got me about knights in the medieval times, and they wore so much armor! Like, they put on a tunic, and then chain mail, and then all of the real armor, but it was all _super_ heavy, so they had to have their squires lift them up onto their horses!" He laughed out loud. "And I have this one about Ancient Greece, and it's really cool! Oh, but I have this other one about Greek myths, and it's _really_ weird. Did you know that Zeus married his _sister?_ That's so disgusting! And Achilles was kind of a jerk. But Hercules was pretty cool. I mean Heracles. I always mix them up. It's kinda funny. They're all in my name, but they were all kind of strange. Like, Mercury wasn't even Greek. He's Roman."

"That's really interesting," Dinah agreed, nodding in approval, and Billy beamed, obviously proud at all of his knowledge being put on display. "Do you do any history at school?"

"Yeah, but it's kind of boring," he admitted bluntly. "I like reading about it."

"Are there any subjects that you _do_ enjoy at school?"

"P.E. We just play tag and stuff. It's really fun. And library time, even though it's only on Wednesdays. And recess. And lunch."

"You really like school, then?"

He turned his gaze downwards, almost sheepishly. "I mean, yeah, kind of." He shrugged, as if he was trying to seem only sort of interested in school. Dinah knew a lot of kids felt that way, a little embarrassed to like school. "It's fun. I have lots of friends and stuff. And Miss Harding is pretty cool. But she's kind of strict. I don't think she really likes Joey. He's really funny, but sometimes he's 'disruptive', as she likes to say."

"Is Joey one of your friends?"

"Yeah, sort of. He's funny, but sometimes he's kind of mean. And stupid. I don't think he likes me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But it's okay. He's not really worth it, you know? Like, he's mean, but it's not like he's a _bully_ or anything. It's just that sometimes he makes fun of me."

"He sounds like a bully to me."

"Well, I mean, he only does it to me, so he's not really a bully. And he's never punched me or anything."

"Do you stand up to him?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he cares. And it's not like I can turn into Captain Marvel and, I dunno, _force_ him to be nice to me."

"That's very responsible of you." Billy's face flushed. "It's true!" she continued, not wanting to sound degrading or fake in any way. Dinah found that it was far better to be honest with children than to treat them mockingly. She talked a lot with the kids on the Team; it was a similar dynamic. "Not many boys your age have the kind of responsibility you have to discern when to use your powers. I understand why someone would trust you with them."

Billy rocked back and forth a bit in place, looking like he was trying to contain the pride he felt from her words.

"You know, I trust you, too," she added.

He looked up at her, meeting her gaze. "What?"

"I trust you Billy. There's no other man I could want beside me in a battle. You're dependable, tough, and very honorable."

"You mean, when I'm Captain Marvel," he corrected, pretending not to be disappointed.

"No, I mean _you_. _You_ , Billy Batson, are the tough one. It's you that makes fighting alongside Captain Marvel so great. He can just fly."

"Thanks," he sighed, his mouth quirking up in a little smile. "I wish the rest of the League felt like that. They think I'm just a kid."

Dinah shook her head. "No, that's not true. Remember when Batman told you his secret identity? That he was the multi-billionaire Bruce Wayne?"

"Yeah, that was super weird. Like, he's the coolest Justice League guy _and_ he's a famous rich guy?"

"Exactly. You probably took a little bit to adjust to that one, right?"

Billy nodded. "It was kind of hard to approach him—I mean, more than before."

"Don't you think the League needs a little time to adjust to your secret identity?"

His eyes fell to the ground, and he drew his lips tight. Finally, he muttered, "Yeah, I guess so. I just don't want them to treat me any _less_ than before."

"And they shouldn't have to. You haven't changed a bit. You're still the same Captain Marvel we all know and love. All that's changed is that now we know that your 'time-restricting job' is just school. That's all."

"But…but what if they still treat me weird?"

Dinah rolled her eyes. "Come on. You really think I'd let them get away with that?"

"N-no…"

She stood up and carefully made her way through the trash to where Billy sat on his bed, outstretching her hand to him. "How about we go back to the Watchtower? We are kind of on standby, remember?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Do I have to…?"

"You _are_ a member of the Justice League." At those words, his whole face lit up and he sat up straight, as if he had for a moment forgotten the importance of his role. He grabbed her hand with a strong grip and lifted himself off the bed with a grin stretched across his face.

"Let's go!" he replied confidently.

* * *

"I'm back!" were the first words out of Captain Marvel's mouth when he and Black Canary zeta-ed back into the Watchtower. The present Leaguers all jerked their heads around from their conversations. "Miss me?"

"You were only gone twenty-four minutes and nine seconds," Red Tornado remarked. "That is not an adequate amount of time for my systems to—"

Plastic Man shoved Red Tornado with a stretched-out arm before he could go any further. "Oh, be quiet Tornado, of course we missed you, Cap'n."

Captain Atom looked over at him, taken aback. "Wait, _he's_ Captain? Not me?"

"Sorry I was acting like a kid earlier," Captain Marvel confessed, shrugging embarrassedly. But no one really seemed to care for his apology. They continued on in their normal banter. For once, Captain Marvel was overjoyed not to be the center of attention.

"Hey, at least you have an excuse," Aquaman also chimed in. "Barry has no justification for _his_ whining."

A buzz came from the controls. "You _know_ , the coms are on," came the Flash's voice through the static.

"Oh, I think he knows, Barry," came Green Arrow's voice from another frequency. The other Leaguers burst into laughter.

"Batman to Watchtower," came the dark vigilante's voice, cutting off the chatter. "Requesting backup on the second airship, preferably Captain Marvel or Hawkman."

Batman wanted his backup. The thought was nearly enough to make Captain Marvel jump ten feet in the air. And…and everybody was acting so normal around him. Yes, things had changed between them, but at the moment, it didn't feel that way to him.

Hawkman crossed his arms. "Finally need that aerial backup, oh flightless bat?"

There was a pause on the other end of the transmission. "Correction, just send me the Captain."

"Now he's _the_ Captain?" Captain Atom grumbled in disbelief.

"It suits him better," answered Hawkman with a shrug.

"More than the guy who was an actual _Captain?_ "

Numbers began appearing on one of the control screens next to one of the trackers. "Now sending my coordinates."

With a twinkle in his eye, Captain Marvel's chest swelled up, and he felt as though he stood a foot taller. "I'm on my way, Batman."

He was suddenly aware of the fact that Canary had once again placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go show them what you're made of, Billy," she told him, and for a moment, he almost felt like it was his mother standing beside him. He couldn't have felt more proud or more at home.

"You can count on me."


End file.
